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“As long as it takes.”
His predatory smile should have scared me. Instead, my cock started to swell. I was glad I was sitting down. I would die if he realized the effect he had on me.
I reached for another beignet and focused on how incredible it tasted. When I finished, I used a napkin to clean my mouth, not wanting to lick my lips again while the gorgeous man watched me like a wolf watched a rabbit.
I crumpled the napkin, stood, and forced myself to look at him. “I should get the library ready for the day. You can wait outside until we open.”
He rose too and moved closer. Too close. I worried my heart would beat right out of my chest. This was so not good.
“You know I’m not going to do that.”
“That’s not—”
He took one more step and rubbed at the corner of my lip with his thumb. “You missed a spot.”
I was frozen, my mind whirling. I couldn’t make myself speak or move. I was certain I could feel the heat of him, the energy rolling off him like he was going to spring into action any second.
“Let me get you thoroughly cleaned up.” He leaned closer. He was going to kiss me. I…
“No!” My body sprang into action then. I pushed him away. In doing so, I stepped back into the chair I’d vacated, turning it over. I started to fall backward, and he grabbed me, pulling me upright then surprising me by letting go and moving toward the door.
“You’re really hard to resist.”
He was lying. He had to be. No one had ever had that reaction to me before. “I… Please leave.” Tears burned behind my eyes. I couldn’t let him see what he did to me, the way he made me want something I couldn’t have. “Bribing me with money or flowers or food is fine, but don’t you dare pretend to be attracted to me. That’s cruel. Get out of this library and do not come back.”
“Julian, that’s not… I wasn’t…”
“Shut up and get out of here!”
He lifted his arms in surrender and backed out of the room. “I would never lie to you about how beautiful you are.”
I picked up the box of beignets and hurled it at him. He dodged them and headed for the door. I leaned into the hallway, watching until he’d exited, then I ran to make sure the door locked behind him.
7
Lancelot
How had I managed to fuck that up so badly?
Because you were thinking with your dick.
But had I been? Or was I, for the first time ever, thinking with my heart?
I wanted Julian, but there was more to that than lust. I’d wanted plenty of gorgeous men, but I’d kept my hands off them when I needed to. Julian compelled me, drew me in. He made me vulnerable. How could I convince him this wasn’t a game?
It had started out that way, but now… I needed him as much as I needed to get into his archive. I would show him that one way or another.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it from my pocket. Remington. Why was he already checking on me?
“No. I don’t have it, but—”
“Shut up and listen.”
My anger at myself shifted gears and focused on my brother. “I’m fucking trying to do what you asked. You breathing down my neck isn’t going to do a goddamn thing to help.”
“I tried to reach my contact. He’s not responding, and he didn’t show up for work yesterday.”
“Oh fuck.”
“If you can’t get the information today, we’re going to have to break in after the library closes.”
I refrained from reminding him that was what I’d wanted to do since the beginning, especially since I wouldn’t have met Julian if I’d done that. “I’ve got another angle, but no matter what, I will get what we need.”
I hoped to hell Blackjack would come through with the book, and it would convince Julian how serious I was. I didn’t want to leave Julian out of this. If Remy’s contact had been exposed, there was a chance Carlotti knew about the information being passed to us. There was no way in hell I’d leave Julian unprotected when those assholes might come sniffing around.
“Who is your contact, Remington? It’s time I knew.”
“His name is Andy Richard, and he’s a professor at Tulane. We met at a historical society function. He’s assisted me with adding to my collection.”
Remington was using his stiff, detached voice. There was something he didn’t want to say. “And?”
“We got drunk together one night after an auction, and he confessed he’s a member of the Carlotti family, a second cousin to Valentino. He knew who I was.”
“Shit, Remy. I’m surprised you let him live.”
“He wants nothing to do with them. He was able to get out because his connection is distant, but he’s seen some of the worst of what their family does. He saw Carlotti beat a housekeeper to death because she spilled wine on him.”
